Games › Action RPG › Action RPG + Thriller
Should I ship a Thriller Action RPG?
Action RPG + Thriller
Of 36 developers who shipped a Thriller Action RPG in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 57 more are announced, ×3.4 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 7 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $1.2k, ×0.8 the market's $1.5k for a 7 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $270; 1 in 20 cleared $710k, ×477 the market median. Revenue is up 55% on the market; 57 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $269 (exactly $269) |
|---|---|
| Median | $1.2k (exactly $1,199) |
| Top 25% | $44k (exactly $44,356) |
| Top 5% | $715k (exactly $714,842) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 36 |
| Released games | 84 |
| Announced | 57 |
| Effort | 7 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Low |
| Typical price | $5.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue up 55% on the market, supply 10% fewer developers than the period before.
Free games: 12%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is low: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Action RPG
- effort 7 / 10 · low · effort 7 sits in the low band
- Thriller
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 7 / 10 · big single-player or serious online
- Systems
- Action RPG; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, RPG
- Price point
- $5.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 3D, First-Person, Realistic
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.
The top 10 games average 86% positive over 11,678 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $270. 8 in 10 of the 23 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 57 games are announced against 17 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.4 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Action RPG with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + NavalFair
- + Local Co-OpFair
- + WesternFair
- + Local MultiplayerFair
- + Walking SimulatorLong shot
- + WuxiaPoor odds
- + Character Action GamePoor odds
- + MechsPoor odds
- + Colony SimPoor odds
- + Dating SimPoor odds
- + Open World Survival CraftPoor odds
- + Bullet HeavenPoor odds
Comparable games
The Killing Antidote 2024 · EA · $6.8M 
The Sinking City Remastered 2021 · $6.4M 
The Scourge | Tai Ương 2026 · $715k 
消失的航班，还有她她她！Lost in the secret! 2025 · $361k 
Lakeview Valley 2019 · $319k | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | The Killing Antidote | · EA | $29.99 | 7,512 88% | 225k | $6.8M (exactly $6,758,546) | MetalStar Studio |
| | The Sinking City Remastered | older | $39.99 | 5,361 75% | 161k | $6.4M (exactly $6,431,592) | Frogwares |
| | The Scourge | Tai Ương | $19.99 | 1,192 93% | 36k | $715k (exactly $714,842) | Rare Reversee, Beaztek | |
| | 消失的航班，还有她她她！Lost in the secret! | $19.99 | 602 89% | 18k | $361k (exactly $361,019) | Humongous Pictures | |
| | Lakeview Valley | older | $14.99 | 710 82% | 21k | $319k (exactly $319,287) | Roope Tamminen |
 | Kingdom of Night | $19.99 | 326 86% | 9.8k | $196k (exactly $195,502) | Friends of Safety | |
 | Tornado: Research and Rescue | · EA older | $12.99 | 356 85% | 11k | $139k (exactly $138,733) | Sam Kennedy |
 | Arrogation: Unlight of Day | older | $19.99 | 227 79% | 6.8k | $136k (exactly $136,132) | Corax_Studios |
 | Touhou ~Red Empress Devil. | $8.99 | 438 70% | 13k | $118k (exactly $118,129) | STUDIO POCO | |
 | Chained in the Backrooms | · EA | $2.99 | 933 68% | 28k | $84k (exactly $83,690) | Task+ Studios |
 | Hariti | $6.99 | 318 88% | 9.5k | $67k (exactly $66,685) | Ghostcase | |
 | Miami Paradise 2 | $14.99 | 131 94% | 3.9k | $59k (exactly $58,911) | Entropy Digital Entertainment | |
 | Only Whores Survive 🔞 | $9.99 | 148 61% | 4.4k | $44k (exactly $44,356) | BanzaiProject | |
 | No Vacation for an Executioner | $13.99 | 78 70% | 2.3k | $33k (exactly $32,737) | JayO |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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